St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-10-15
with me on his back, and I soon no.

| with me on his back, and | soon no.
ticed that live horse, in order to put
himself in that attitude, simply throws
the centre of gravity through the rider to
his hind feet. | can go right out here
now with you in the White Lot on Old
Olympus and assume the position of
that model, and the old brute will keep
it until | bring him to all fours again.
That is all there is in this statue.
On it | will stake my reputation
almost my life when the model
was all done the next question
was to cast the statue. He had by
this time but little money on hand
lie had TO ret along the best way he
could. lie went out of town to his we'll
known place and there built a little
shanty to serve as his foundry. He had
no chimney, smokestack or blast of any
kind, and here, in some way or Other--no
one but himself hardly kneW-he cast
that fine statue piece by piece. His first
casting was made in August, 1852. With
three-eighths of a cord of wood he
melted 600 tons of cannon metal and cast
four bells, simply as practice. lie found
it very difficult to cast without
bubbles and flaws. Every casting cost
him about S4OO, and he made six success
i've trials and failures. In the month
Of October he succeeded in getting a
perfect casting. Then it was easy work
to him, and, before the month was over,
he had all the parts cast complete. The
sides were cast whole, the hind LEGS
separate The figure Of jackson himself
was cast separate | remember for scv-
eral weeks it stood apart on an old
brandy cask. Before the middle of
December Mills had the statue all
tOgether-the first statue in the history
of the world in which the weight of the
horse and rider did not rest upon an
artificial and ungainly rod, but
was based upon the strength of its own
material and the line Of gravity through
the launches of the horse and the figure
of the rider. Clark Mills was the first
man to conceive of this great principle
in equestrian statuary. The man was dis
couraged time and again by his failures.
lie once told me that he seriously thought
of suicide after so many disasters in cast
lnL the statue His reward in the end JUS
titled his patience. He spent every cent of
the $4,000 agreed on as the price of the
statue, and but for John W. Norev,
who was mayor of Washington, the
work would have failed Morev adj
vancd Mills money from time to time
-somthing like $4,000 in all 1t took
ClarkAlills five years Of hard work.
"Stehcn A. Douglas, with all his fame
when l. delivered the Grafton on the Sth
of January, 1853, the anniversary of the
battle q New Orleans, was not so prouda
man "a ills as he stepped up to pull the
| fla With unveiled the statue He said
not vol, but the act was more eloquent
than all he orators in christendom. Con-
grcss 500 gave him $4,000 commits
| sion for Statue of Washington, and he
executed tat work we'll but as Demo
crat, alioWme TO say that even Wash
ington dldnot afford him so grand a
theme as te grand old Democrat, An
| drew Jacksn. | think that is the reason
the " asElnton statue is not a success
and the Jaclon statue is" The genu-
ineness of II old mans enthusiasm kept
me from smiag j. T.